"We need to get to the root of the problem - the parents. They should know better than to stuff their kids’ faces with junk food and fizzy drinks."

A spokesperson for the Department of Health told HuffPost UK Parents: "We have no plans to jail parents of obese children.

"We want to help families and support them to lead happier and healthier lives.

"The [Child Obesity] Act isn't what we're developing, we're looking at compiling a strategy which will look at different aspects of obesity - there's lots of things we're looking at and we'll be announcing our steps later on in the year."